In His Memory

by WeasleyTwin2

This is a story set one year after Final Confrontation ends. Draco Malfoy discovers things he never knew about himself and a new and powerful enemy arises. An After Hogwarts Tale. ~Final two chapters uploaded~.

8. Default Chapter Title

In His Memory

Part Seven: Night Falling Fast

By: WeasleyTwin2

Once begun

Life goes till it's gone

We have to go where it's going

Then You Looked at Me

Celine Dion

The night is falling fast

Les Miserables

Enjolras at the Barricades

I awoke from my deep, dreamless sleep and immediately knew something was different: very different. I felt stronger then I had ever felt in my life, even when the powers Dark Magic had been mine to use. The power I felt now ran along my veins and hummed in my ears. I felt complete, more complete then I had ever before. Instead of darkness and fear, I was full of light and courage. I felt strong and sure of what I could do. All my doubts seemed trivial and they left me for that moment. I was full of joy and hope for the first time in many years, maybe even in my whole life.

"So this is how Harry always felt," I thought

I recognized the signature of the power within me at once; such light and power could only have come from him. The strength of his gift surprised me for an instant. The question was: why he transferred his magic to me? I pondered this question as I got out of bed and dressed for our journey. Going over to the table by the bed to pick up Harry's wand, I noticed a note, written in scarlet ink under it. It bore the same handwriting as my original letter. Opening it, I read:

Draco,

I have no time to explain. I have transferred a part of my power to you. I must save my parents if I can. The path I take now is dark and full of danger: yet take it I must. I may be captured or my spirit might vanish forever from this world but I cannot and will not allow my powers to be taken by Seth-Ra, for that would make him invincible. Guard these powers and the wand well. Protect the others as well for they too carry a part of my powers with them. I trust you to carry out my wishes. Please have faith in yourself and the others. Do not ever doubt, for through doubt and fear Darkness can enter, sapping your power and courage. You must have no fear, no doubt in this dark time. I will try to join you later, if I am able, before the final battle. Good Luck!

Harry

The Potter crest was below his signature.

"Good luck, my friend," I murmured as I finished reading the note. I hoped he would be able to return to us, sometime. I had gotten used to him being there again, always ready to help. I had also gotten to know him pretty well in the past several weeks and I found that I liked him now as much as I had once hated him. I didn't want to loose that friendship as strange as it was. I hoped he would try to stay safe and that he would come back to us when he was able.

Looking out my window, I noticed it was just nearing sunset, the hour appointed for departure. The patch of sky outside my window was scarlet, pink and blue. I thrust Harry's wand through my belt, shouldered my pack and threw my cloak over my shoulders. Then after one more sweeping look around the room to make sure I had left nothing behind, I left it without looking back. I headed down several flights and crossed the Entrance Hall, meeting no one along the way. I entered to restored wing of the school and could hear indistinct whispers all around me. I marveled at how they had been able to restore the wing exactly as I remembered it. The only addition was a small bronze plaque at the entrance, which dedicated the wing to those who had died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Officially, it was called the Memorial Wing now but the students called it the Harry Potter wing or more often just the HP even though Harry's final confrontation with Voldemort had not occurred anywhere near there. I smiled as I remembered Harry's reaction to this renaming. At first, he didn't believe us when we told him. Then he heard some of the students call it that and he was dismayed but the real shocker came when he overheard two of the teachers call it that. At that point, he conceded defeat and washed his hands of the whole affair claiming it was none of his business if the teachers wanted to call it that. Who was he to argue with the will of teachers?

I was the first of the party to arrive. Sirius Black was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes were closed and yet I sensed that he was alert even as he appeared to rest. This was a gift he had relied on during his years as a convict on the run and it had helped him escape the Ministry countless times over the course of those years. I began to think that this skill of his might be very useful on our long journey. I had seen Harry's godfather only a handful of times but never up close. Sirius was still extremely thin and his skin was pale from lack of sun. His black hair was cut short. A day's growth of beard stood out darkly on his chin. As I approached, his eyes snapped open and he pushed away from the wall.

"I was wondering who would be the first to arrive," he said.

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say to him. I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall from the opposite direction I had come. Looking down the now torch lit corridor, I was surprised to see Prof. Lupin coming toward us with rapid strides, his cloak and robes billowing out behind him. It was then that I noticed that he was carrying a pack of his own and that he had his wand thrust threw his belt.

"Sorry Moony, old friend, but you lose the bet," said Sirius, humor coloring his voice and a twinkle in his eye.

"What bet?" I asked, curiously.

"Sirius and I had a bet going as to who would be the first to arrive. I said I would be the first to arrive at this little party and he, for some reason, thought you might be the first one." Lupin grinned in good humor.

Sirius' grin widened and Lupin began to laugh. I couldn't help joining in and I began to relax in their company, at least somewhat. They had been friends for years, going all the way back to their school days. I didn't know either one of them well but I was beginning to believe that I would like almost anyone I had previously hated if I tried to get to know them and allowed them to get to know me. I wanted, no needed, friends as a thirsty man needs water. It was a strange sensation and one that I'm positive my late, but not so lamented, father would have taken me to task for. Nevertheless, I had come through many trails and had made my choice. As I had told Seth-Ra, I would not look back or regret the choice I had made.

Soon after Lupin's arrival, Hermione and Ron arrived from different directions with packs on their backs and cloaks thrown over their shoulders. We all stood for a moment in silence, surveying each other with a little fear and excitement reflected in all of our eyes. If Ron and Hermione were surprised to see Lupin, they showed no sign of it. I did wonder how and why he was able to join us. What we would do if we couldn't reach the ruined castle before a little less then a month passed.

As if he had read my mind, Lupin cleared his throat and said, "I'm going with you because I know a little about the ruins of Castle Gryffindor and how to get passed the protections that are said to guard it from the taint of Dark Magic. I also know where to find the information we're in search for within the castle…"

This information surprised me and I wondered where he had learned about Castle Gryffindor. It wasn't common knowledge and it certainly was not taught about at Hogwarts.

"But what about…?" Hermione began, looking concerned.

"As for my… being a werewolf… There is no need to worry. There has been a new discovery, invented quite by accident."

Lupin pulled an amulet from under his robes and showed it to us. I saw that it was gold, teardrop shaped, inscribed with many runes and inset with a single ruby. I recognized it at once though I did wonder where he had gotten it. They were extremely rare and I myself had only heard of them but had never seen one until now. It was a Wolfsbane Amulet. They were so rare and valuable not only because they were a new discovery but also because they were so difficult to make and the spell involved was so complicated that only the highest-level wizards would have been able to make the one before me.

"That's a Wolfsbane Amulet," I said, looking awed.

The others looked surprised but whether it was because of my knowledge or because of the amulets rarity, I wasn't sure

Lupin shifted slightly, as if he was uncomfortable, and then nodded.

"Who…?" began Sirius.

"I had Severus make it for me. He was the only one here capable of it. It works the same as the potion of the same name and renders me harmless to people when I transform as long as I always wear it. The amulet is one of the reasons Minerva would let me go. Severus agreed to take my classes while I'm gone.

"Are you sure he can be trusted? He hates you, you know." Black was both skeptical and surprised. There was a longstanding feud between Snape and Lupin that went back to their own student days

"I've tested the amulet and found the spells to be set correctly. Severus and I might dislike each other but he would never betray the school or me. We have no other choice but to trust him. We can't afford to fail. If we do then all is lost and the world will be plunged into a darkness that will never end. I have to go with you, it's important somehow. I don't why I feel that way, but I do. I have to do this… James… and… Harry would have." Lupin glared at us all, daring anyone to deny his request. Sirius bowed his head a moment and then shrugged.

I hoped Lupin was right about the amulet because I had no wish to face a full grown werewolf who wasn't docile in the middle of a ruin in what was likely to be enemy territory.

"We'll be lucky to get there in one piece without some ambushes being laid on our road," I thought glumly.

Sirius took out his wand and tapped the statue smartly. He muttered a few words of which I only caught "mischief" and "open". The statue slide sideways and revealed a trap door that none of us had seen before. Lupin lifted this and we all stood looking at a rough wooden ladder that descended into a dark tunnel that went in the direction of Hogsmead. Silently, the five of us slipped down the ladder and into the tunnel. There was a scurrying noise and some distant squeaks but the tunnel was otherwise silent. Sirius put his finger to his lips indicating we should remain silent and move as quietly as possible. We followed him down the dim lit and slimy passage, encountering nothing along the way beyond a few mice that scurried away into the darkness when our dim wand light hit them. Sirius led the way and Lupin brought up the rear. They seemed ideally suited for their positions. Sirius knew where we were going and Lupin's enhanced hearing would be able to pick up signs of persuit. I began to suspect that both of them were guarding the three of us. I wondered if they too had been visited in the night by Harry's ghost or had had a note from him as I had.

As soon as it became clear there was no danger and no enemies hidden in this passage, my thoughts returned to the questions that were still running circles in my mind: the questions that still hadn't been answered. Why had Harry transferred his powers to the others and me? Why had I been the one chosen by his wand? Wouldn't Ron or Hermione have been a more logical choice? Either one of them would have been a better choice in my mind. They were both much stronger in the magic of the Light then I was and they were of Gryffindor's house as I was not. My own power was so limited, much more so then my powers of the Dark had been. I had had precious little training in the Light magic and I was sure this would be a weakness that Seth-Ra could use to his advantage.

"No doubt… I must have no doubt in my heart… Darkness can enter through fear and doubt…" I repeated the phrase from Harry's letter to myself over and over again as we moved down the dim passageway.

I wondered what awaited us at the other end of this tunnel and in the ruins of Castle Gryffindor once we reached it. I knew that Sirius' house was near Hogsmead but not in it and I hoped that when we got there we wouldn't find the place overrun with Seth-Ra's minions. I shivered at the thought of facing them and Him unprepared. We were not ready to face Seth-Ra because we could not yet defeat him for all time without the information we were seeking. Questions and doubts began to flood my brain, even though I tried to shove them into a small corner of my mind, striving to forget about them.

All too soon we arrived at the end of the passage. We stood grouped around the doorway that marked the end of the passage. My heart was throbbing so hard that I thought it would burst. Everyone's eyes reflected my fear and uncertainty. Lupin went up to the door and pressed his ear against its wooden surface to listen for sounds on the other side. He listened intently, his face a mask of concentration. Several silent minutes passed before he nodded, just one quick, sharp movement and Sirius took out a small, golden key. He fitted the key into the ornate lock and turned it. We all heard a very audible click as it unlock and we held our breath. Lupin pressed his ear against the door again and waited a few moments. After several silent and tense minutes had passed, he nodded again and Sirius slowly opened the door with his wand raised and ready. It was then that I noticed that we all had our wands at the ready. I didn't remember even pulling Harry's wand from my belt.

Sirius edged into the room beyond the door and motioned for us to remain where we were. I was glad that he was going to check to see that things were okay before everyone entered. My heart was still doing its tap dance in my chest and I was sure that everyone could hear it. Everyone was looking like I felt, pale and fearful, though Lupin tried to hid it. I was beginning to get a headache, which radiated from my scar, outward and I wondered how close Seth-Ra's creatures were. Time passed and the cooler air coming through the door became more and more inviting before Sirius returned. He ushered us into what turned out to be an empty basement room. We followed him up the wooden stairs and into a small kitchen, which was bigger, then the one I had in my own house. The windows were shuttered so that no light would escape through them.

"We'll have to remain in this room and keep very quiet. Seth-Ra's minions have a camp nearby."

I really didn't want to hear that but then I already knew they were nearby because my body began to burn and I became weaker and slightly disoriented in addition to the headache that was now pounding in my head. We all nodded in response not daring to say anything for fear of being overheard by the creatures we were hiding from.

"We will rest here tonight and continue our journey in the morning. It would be best to keep together and stay in this room as much as possible. We should also set a watch in pairs. It's quiet now but…" Sirius let the sentence hang.

We all agreed and drew lots for watches. I drew the final watch with Sirius. As I bedded down, I wondered what the dawn would bring. This was my last thought before sleep overcame me and sent me into nightmares full of fire and voices screaming in pain.

Several hours later, Sirius shaking my arm awakened me. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and untangled myself from my blankets. I stretched and yawned, trying to will my tired body into action. I had not slept well at all. I was stiff and sour and my head ached dully from the proximity of Seth-Ra's creatures. Sirius looked as though he had not slept at all. His eyes were red and puffy and his face was haggard looking. I suddenly wondered if he ever slept. He always seemed to look like this whenever I would see him from a distance. I took the cup of warm tea that he offered without commenting on his lack of sleep. I drank it in almost one gulp without adding any sugar and then I took a second cup when he offered it. My head cleared somewhat and I was able to eat a little bit of bread and cheese although evidentially not enough for Sirius. He was looking at me with concern and a little puzzlement reflected in his face.

"I'm fine," I told him.

Sirius merely looked deeply into my eyes and nodded. The silence stretched out between us, making me very uncomfortable. I looked around the kitchen, seeking something to talk about but coming up with nothing to say. I wasn't sure what to say to him because I barely knew him. Sirius continued to study me for several minutes, a far away look in his eyes.

"You're the One," he said, so softly that the words didn't carry to the others who were deeply asleep, wrapped in blankets nearby.

"What?" I said, shaking my head in confusion. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"It wasn't… Harry… it is you," he intoned with the same look in his eyes except now his eyes were flashing fiercely.

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Sirius shook his head; the faraway look replaced by a look of confusion in his eyes. It was as if he had come out of some kind of trance. He looked at me a moment more then dropped his gaze. I stood there with a look of utter bewilderment on my face. What could he have been talking about? Surely I couldn't be the Horus, could I? I was not even of the correct house. All the information we had on the matter clearly stated that the Horus was of Osirius/Gryffindor's house.

"It's not possible." I thought in disbelief.

Unless I was now of Gryffindor. I wondered if I put the sorting hat on right now would it put me in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Was it possible for one's house alignment to change over time or under great stress such as we had just experienced? This thought was too much for me to take on top of everything else that had already happened. I sat down in a chair and tried to make sense out of the confusion that my thoughts had become. Sirius, it appeared, could not remember what he had said to me and he looked on with concern written clearly on his face. I was just about to repeat that I was fine when a flash of movement caught my eye and I felt a stab of cold fear chill my heart but it was only Ron turning over in his sleep. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart's wild beating. I looked over at Sirius, who looked just like I felt. We laughed nervously at our somewhat groundless fear. I looked around the kitchen again and noticed for the first time that it was much nicer then the one in my own little house. In fact, the whole house was probably larger then my own. It was ironic that Sirius, the one that some people still thought of as a criminal, should have a house larger then a Malfoy. I grinned up at him and his eyes twinkled for a moment.

"You've got a nice place here," I said, not knowing what else to say.

Sirius shrugged, his eyes still twinkling despite the gravity of our situation and began to pace the room, checking all the windows and the outside door to be sure they were secure.

"Best see to the wards in the rest of the house," he muttered.

He walked passed me and through the opposite door into the utter darkness of another room, the details of which were hidden from me. Curiosity getting the better of me, I murmured "lumos" and, in the faint light cast by Harry's wand, I followed him. The next room was a small dining room with paneled walls that reflected my faint wand light. There was a table surrounded by chairs and a china cabinet whose contents also reflected my light. Sirius had already left this room and had entered another room. I could hear noises coming from the room beyond the dining room's double doors. I followed the faint noises and passed through the double doors to find myself in a large room full of chairs and books with many paintings and photographs on the walls. Everything in this room was dim and hazy, cloaked in shadow except for where the wand cast its light. By its faint light I could see that from every picture, Harry waved and smiled down at me. There were other pictures in the room, of course, Sirius and his friends and Harry's parents holding an infant Harry who waved but I only noticed Harry's smiling face in these pictures and all else was a blur. A fresh wave of grief hit me full force. I tried to shut it out but I couldn't and the room blurred around me for a moment. My grief almost overwhelmed me but I couldn't understand why. I thought I was over Harry's death. Maybe I wasn't, maybe I was kidding myself.

"We don't have time for grief..." I though fiercely at myself, as tears fell from my eyes.

I felt as if I had lost him all over again, this time for all time. I searched within me and felt a sudden, unexplainable fear wash over me in a wave. Harry was in grave danger somewhere. The part of him still within me echoed with fear and great pain. I almost cried out but stopped myself only just in time. It would do our quest no good if we were captured now. I could feel Harry's soul in peril, the power I held hummed in response to this threat, this attack. I was powerless to offer any aid nor could I say what the source of the danger was although my guess was Seth-Ra. I thought I heard a faint scream "No!" echo down the magic line of power that held the four of us together but I couldn't be sure.

Sirius appeared not to notice my emotional display as he checked the wards around the high windows and the front door. The he looked up the winding staircase that led to the second floor and, through eyes still full of tears, I saw him crumple to the floor. Instantly alert and with my wand at the ready, I rushed to his aid thinking he'd been attacked by something. I reached him and looked up the stairs but saw nothing to explain his fall. Puzzled, I looked down at him and saw he too was quietly sobbing.

"I can't…do…it…I can't…" he repeated over and over.

It was then that I realized Sirius must still be grieving for Harry and that Harry's appearance at Hogwarts had renewed that grief maybe even doubled it. Sirius had been like a father to Harry in his last few years, more of a father then Harry's uncle had ever been. It was an awful thing for a parent to loss a child: to be the one to outlive them. Sirius grief must be terrible and much deeper then my own. Seeing Harry's ghost, however briefly it had been, must have felt like salt on a fresh wound. I felt drawn to help him then and I tried to comfort him as best I could. My own tears ran anew and we wept for several minutes together. After a moment he stopped and turned his tear bright eyes to me, an unasked question in their depths. He cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Can you make sure… the upper floor is… secure? Please…" he said in a voice soaked with deep emotion

I nodded and Sirius went to sit on a nearby chair. After making sure he was settled, I mounted the stair to the upper floor with some trepidation. At the same time I felt drawn to that second floor for some reason. That reason must have had something to do with the part of Harry that I carried within me, like a small spark of flame. One by one, I checked the wards around the windows of all the rooms, with an almost methodical air. They were all intact and strong and they all bore Harry's signature, glowing with a strong scarlet and gold light easily recognizable to me. Finally, I came to the room at the end of the long hall, which was drawing me like a moth to a flame. The door was closed and, at first, I thought it was locked as well. It opened at my touch though and I took a deep breath before entering the room, as if preparing for an encounter of some sort.

It was just an ordinary room, not all that much different from the ones we had kept while at Hogwarts. The hangings on the bed were the scarlet and gold of Gryffindor and the people in the photographs waved at me as I crossed to the rooms only window and checked the wards on it too. I longed to look outside and see where the enemy camp was but I didn't dare. It would be too dangerous and I really didn't need to see where they were anyway because I could feel them and my head throbbed as I sensed their nearness. I didn't understand why they affected me this way but they did. Turning from the window, I looked for the first time at my surroundings and realized this was Harry's room. Something in the room was calling to me, a faint whispering sound. My eyes scanned the room, searching for the source of the whisper. The room looked like it had not been touched in all the time since Harry's death and there was a fine coating of dust on everything from the curtains that covered the window to the floor. My feet had left prints in the dust on the floor as I slowly moved around the room and my foot prints were the only ones here. Harry's parents waved serenely at me from a photograph on the desk, while the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team jumped up and down with the Quidditch Cup in their hands. I remembered that day with bittersweet irony. It had been the last match of our seventh year. Gryffindor had narrowly defeated Slytherin to win the Cup. I smiled grimly remembering what happened next. How could we have known that the very next day Voldemort would attack and change everyone's lives forever. I shook my head and tears began to form from the combination of sad memories and the dust. I continued to scan the room carefully and felt a pull from a small desk drawer. I pulled it open and found a sealed letter and a small leather bound book within it. The whispering stopped the instant that I touched them. I wondered what they contained but before I had a chance to take a closer look at either one of the objects, I heard a noise right behind me. I jumped and whipped around to find Sirius standing in the doorway. There were tears streaming down his face again.

I… haven't been in here… since…" he said in a trembling voice, tears shining in his eyes.

Once again, I found myself in the position of comforter. It was odd that this kept happening to me, whose own grief was not yet healed and who had so little experience in giving comfort to anyone. Yet here I was trying to comfort Sirius when I wanted a shoulder to lean on myself while standing inside Harry's old room and surrounded by the memories that the objects in the room called up. I told him the same things I had told Lupin only yesterday which felt like a lifetime ago. It seemed to calm him a little, though he still had tears standing in his eyes. There were people in pain all around me now and there would likely be more before this whole business was done. I hoped and prayed that we would survive this night that had fallen so fast upon us.

A scream from below rent the air and disturbed my inner contemplation. Our tear stopped suddenly and we both took the stairs at a run and burst into the kitchen to see what had been its cause. Hermione stood, her mouth open in a now silent scream, staring at something through the shade. I looked and noticed that the sky was still black as night, though it was supposed to be sunrise. These were not ordinary clouds heralding the arrival of a great storm but some sort of spell. I could feel it but had no clue what it meant. There also seemed to be a strange humming in the air as if great power was being used somewhere nearby. It was Dark magic and its probable source was the nearby enemy camp. I could hear that faint hissing voice in my head again but I shut it out as best I could. I shook my head to clear it. I could also feel the power of the Light but it was a faint and feeble stirring the wizard behind it was weakening fast.

Outside the window the Darkness seemed to be alive. It swirled and moved and throughout its expanse were small flashes of green and scarlet light as if someone was doing battle within it. I felt the tension in the air between the two unknown forces fighting high above us. It was while watching this that I finally noticed that there was a troop of Seth-Ra's minions very close to the house chasing what looked, at first, like a six-legged creature. As I watched it draw nearer the strange creature resolved into two people helping a third. All three had the flaming red hair of the Weasley's. They came closer, with Seth-Ra's creatures after them and gaining rapidly on them and I could see, at last, who it was. Fred and George were running and limping between them was an older man who looked to be related to them. Ron gasped behind me and I turned to him to find his eyes were widened in shock and disbelief.

'Bill…?" Ron said, his shock evident in his voice. Ron's eyes rolled up inside his head and he slumped to the floor in a faint.

I stared back out the window and felt like fainting to. It was like seeing a ghost… Bill couldn't be the man that limped between the twins. It was not possible… Bill was dead…

A/N: All these characters belong to J.K. Rowling and her publishers except for Seth-Ra who belongs to me. Part 8 will be called Spirit Lost…Now that you've finished reading this please do review it. J

WeasleyTwin2